Changing a Front Tire With Simple Tools, (Part 1)

[Black Lab]

Upon returning from my recent Gaspe Peninsula trip, my front TKC-80 was worn out. I decided to change and balance a new tire myself. I first tackled this "How To" procedure, when I hit a rock in Canada in the late Spring, and ended up with a rear tire, sidewall puncture. I got stuck in a campground for 3 days until a new tire could be delivered. I dismounted the damaged tire and mounted a new tire and rode away, (Thanks to PM input from forum member "cheff". I would probably still be stuck there!).

Doing this at home, it is in a little more friendly enviornment!
(I strongly urge practicing some form of tire repair techniques.)

NOTE: All the work is being done on a 2007 DL-650.

NOTE: There are many ways to change a tire. My focus was to use very simple tools; tools that you should be carrying with you on your bike, at the very least, on trips. I carry the tools used in this tutorial at all times.

01- Park motorcycle on firm, flat surface and up on its centerstand.
02- Loosen and remove axle pinch bolt. Front, bottom, left fork. 12mm socket.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/LoosenAxlePinchBolt.jpg

03- Loosen brake caliper bolts. Two bolts per caliper. 14mm socket.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/LooseningCaliperBolts.jpg

EDIT: 07-24-2009
To remove the front wheel, you only need to remove one caliper. I remove the right one. I remove this one because I am on that side of the bike removing the axle bolt and pinch bolt.

04- Remove brake calipers and tie them out of the way. I temporarily wired my calipers to my PIAA light bar.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/TieingUpBrakeCalipers.jpg

05- Remove speedometer cable clips. Right fork. 8mm socket.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/RemoveSpeedoCableClips.jpg

06- Loosen axle bolt. 12mm hex socket.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/LoosenAxleBolt.jpg

07- Slide a jack underneath your skidplate, (You do have one, don't you?), and jack up the motorcycle so the rear wheel touches your work surface creating a "quad-pod effect" between the two feet of the centerstand, the rear wheel and the jack. The front wheel will be off of the ground.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/FrontofBikeJackedoffofGround.jpg

08- Place some blocking underneath the front wheel to support it when you remove the axle bolt. I used two wooden wedges.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/SupportedFrontWheelAssy.jpg

09- With the front wheel supported by the blocking, remove the axle and then the wheel from the motorcycle.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/RemovingAxle.jpg

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/FrontWheelRemoved.jpg

10- Place the wheel and tire assembly on some sort of "blocking". I used my old rear TKC-80 tire for support of the wheel assembly. By working off of the ground, it eliminates the need for removing the brake discs from each side of the wheel. Otherwise, you have a really good chance of breaking them!
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/TireReadyForDismount.jpg

11- Remove the valve stem core with a core removal tool.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/RemoveStemCore.jpg

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/CoreCoreRemovalTool.jpg

12- Next, slip a tire iron between the wheel rim and the tire. (I am an advocate of short, but sturdy tire irons. I own a pair of 8" Motion Pro tire irons. I applied "cable strength" heat shrink to the irons to help against marring my rims.). Insert the second tire iron between the wheel rim and tire about 8" away from the first iron. The irons should be "spoon face" facing up. Push down on the irons. Shift the irons one at a time and keep pushing down. What you are doing is, "breaking the bead".
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/01TireRemoval.jpg

13- You will see that a gap is forming between the rim and the tire. At this point, flip over one of the tire irons so that it is "spoon face" down and shove it inbetween the wheel rim and tire.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/02TireRemoval.jpg

14- Once the "spoon face down" iron is locked into place, press downward. Go ahead and add the weight of your knees and shoulders as well. The tire will "break away" from the rim.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/04TireRemoval.jpg

Continued in Part Two.

[Black Lab]

15- The tire will be pretty loose by now. Press downward with your hands and break the tire fully free of the rim.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/05TireRemoval.jpg

16- Flip the wheel and tire assembly over on your blocking and break the bead on the other side.

17- With the tire beads free from the wheel on both sides, force a part of the tire up into the wheel. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP! Push the tire up into the rim cavity as far as you can, (thank you cheff), and hold it there with your knees. Place your two tire irons underneath the tire bead, spoon face up. (I like short irons because they don't interfere with the brake discs. Mine sit right underneath the brake disc which acts as another set of hands.). Push downward with the tire irons and lift up a portion of the tire bead so that it clears the wheel rim.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/06TireRemoval.jpg

18- With one tire iron locked underneath the brake disc, grab the other and start to slide it around the rim, just like you would see a machine remove a tire. You may have to stop and reset the tire irons to get another "bite" to finish removing one side of the tire from the rim.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/07TireRemoval.jpg

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/08TireRemoval.jpg

19- With one side of the tire removed from the rim, stand the wheel and tire assembly up. You can almost push the other side of the tire off of the wheel rim, but you will probably need a little tire iron help to finish the job.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/09TireRemoval.jpg

At this point, you should be hoping that none of your riding buddies call you to go for a ride..........

20- With your rim lying on the blocking, place your new tire on top of the rim. Every motorcycle tire has a mark on it somewhere that tells you the direction of rotation that the tire needs to be mounted on to your rim. On the used Tourance that I mounted, the arrow of direction was on the right side of the tire. So, I made sure that I had the right side of the wheel facing upward on my blocking, (The side opposite the speedometer connection.), and I placed the Tourance on top of the wheel. I checked and rechecked and checked this again!
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/01TireInstallation.jpg

21- Using my weight and with the help of a tire iron, I slipped the right tire bead over the wheel rim edge.

22- Next, I pushed the other side of the new tire up into the wheel rim and started my two tire irons underneath the tire bead.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/03TireInstallation.jpg

23- Using the same "sliding" technique that I used to remove the old tire, I pulled one tire iron around the wheel rim, slipping the rest of the bead of the new tire over the wheel rim edge and down into the wheel cavity.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/02TireInstallation.jpg

24- Next I installed the valve stem core and then "compressed" the tire to the rim with a cinch strap.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/CinchStrapsonTire.jpg

25- I hooked up my 12v air compressor to my 12v outlet on my bike. I started my motorcycle in nuetral. I connected the inflation hose to the valve stem and turned on the compressor. When the tire started to become hard, I removed the cinch strap and let the tire come up to pressure; hearing the beads "pop" into place. I continued to inflate the tire.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/UsingAirman12vCompressor.jpg

26- Once the tire was up to pressure, I disconnected the inflation hose from the valve stem, shut off the pump and turned off my motorcycle. I listened for leaks. I spent a little time reorganizing my tools and again listened for leaks. I checked the air pressure. I answered a phone call...... I answered a second phone call........ I checked the air pressure again. It was holding fine.

Next I wanted to balance my tire. I had decided to remove the Dynabeads from the TKC-80 when I changed to the Tourance, because I wanted to experiment with a "home brewed" method of balancing a tire.

I grabbed two 5 gallon joint compound buckets and placed a board across each of them. I slid the front axle back into the wheel assembly and placed the whole thing up on the boards; the axle was bridging the boards. I used a wooden wedge to "eyeball" level the axle and wheel assembly. I gave the a light touch to the wheel and watched it spin. The "heavy side" came to rest at the bottom. Check out the quick little video below.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/th_FrontTireBalance.jpg (http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/?action=view&current=FrontTireBalance.flv)

A friend gave me a strip of stick-on wheel weights.
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/WheelWeightsinHand.jpg

I snapped one in half and stuck it on one side of the rim on the "high side" and gave the wheel a spin again. It looked pretty close!!!! So, I stuck the other half of the weight on the other side of the rim and gave the wheel a spin. I did this a couple of times. Each time, the wheel came to rest in a different spot with no indication of a "heavy side".
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg216/barry_buchanan/2008%20Modifications/Front%20Tire%20Mounting/WheelWeightsonRim.jpg

EDIT: June 26, 2009. The following link will show you another way to balance your tires using Dynabeads. Dynabeads are exculsively how I balance my tires now. Balancing tires with Dynabeads (http://www.stromtrooper.com/showthread.php?t=37927)

From here, mount up your wheel and new tire back on to your bike.


01- Roll the wheel underneath the front fender.
02- Support the wheel assembly with some blocking to lift it up in line with the axle holes in the forks.
03- Slide the axle bolt through the right fork, wheel, speedometer housing and left fork; snug-tighten.
04- Lower the jack and get the front wheel back on the ground.
05- Torque the front axle to 47.0 lb-ft.
06- Place thread lock on the axle pinch bolt and torque to 16.5 lb-ft.
07- Place thread lock on brake caliper bolts and torque to 28.0 lb-ft.
08- Fasten the speedometer cable clips back in place.
09- Check tire pressure again.
10- Go for a ride.

I plan to do the rear tire in the near future in the same manner.

Barry B.

[RidgeRunner]

Nice tutorial there Black Lab. Good Job!!

RR

[GarthEBear]

Hell of a write up! And pics to boot. Thanks for sharing.

[tmcgee]

Everybody should do this at least once, just to prove they can. Other methods of breaking the bead include a big C-clamp and a homemade long-handled 2x4 lever. Soapy water is a good lubricant for brand new sticky tires as you work around the rim.

Nice report, Barry!

[Black Lab]

Everybody should do this at least once, just to prove they can. Other methods of breaking the bead include a big C-clamp and a homemade long-handled 2x4 lever. Soapy water is a good lubricant for brand new sticky tires as you work around the rim.

Nice report, Barry!

There are numerous tips and tricks of doing this job. My focus was to try and illustrate that the job can be done with minimal tools, (and tips and tricks). If I were doing this job on a trip, the only thing that would change would be what I would support the wheel and tire with. This could be a couple of 4 x 4s from a campground, (done that. I have also used a truck wheel "fire ring" at a campground.), maybe two logs, maybe between two picnic tables, maybe using my Pelican cases.

I intentionally didn't use a lubricant, 2 x 4, C-clamp, ect. I just used the tools that I carry with me at all times. I've gotten pretty confident in my use of them which removes the, "I don't know if I want to ride there. I don't know the road and I may get a flat tire." from my head. It opens the riding horizon that much more.

B.

[RichDesmond]

There are numerous tips and tricks of doing this job. My focus was to try and illustrate that the job can be done with minimal tools, (and tips and tricks). If I were doing this job on a trip, the only thing that would change would be what I would support the wheel and tire with. This could be a couple of 4 x 4s from a campground, (done that. I have also used a truck wheel "fire ring" at a campground.), maybe two logs, maybe between two picnic tables, maybe using my Pelican cases.

I intentionally didn't use a lubricant, 2 x 4, C-clamp, ect. I just used the tools that I carry with me at all times. I've gotten pretty confident in my use of them which removes the, "I don't know if I want to ride there. I don't know the road and I may get a flat tire." from my head. It opens the riding horizon that much more.

B.

Very nice writeup, and I completely agree with your logic in making sure you can handle things with what you have on the bike. :thumbsup:

[khager]

Nice writeup Barry! I notice you have a bash plate on yours can you use a floor jack and a piece of wood without a bash plate and would it be better to put it under the motor or the exhaust?

[tmcgee]

Nice writeup Barry! I notice you have a bash plate on yours can you use a floor jack and a piece of wood without a bash plate and would it be better to put it under the motor or the exhaust?

I used a regular car jack and small block of wood under the engine before I got a bash plate.

[LowAndSilent]

Excellent writeup. I may just change the WABS tires out myself before winter hits, and I'll definitely be referring back to this. Thanks!

[XLonDL650]

Thank you for this detailed post.

1)Where do you get the 'cable strength' shrink wrap ?
2)How difficult is it to air up the new tire without using the cinch strap ?

[Black Lab]

Thank you for this detailed post.

1)Where do you get the 'cable strength' shrink wrap ?
2)How difficult is it to air up the new tire without using the cinch strap ?

I work in a boat yard. We use the "big" shrink tube on our battery terminals. Check an auto parts store.

With the little 12v pump, I have to use the cinch strap to get enough of a seal for the slow filling of air. But, I have never had a problem. My regular shop compressor can put out a higher volume of air. I don't need a cinch strap during inflation.

[ig_88e]

I haven't taken the wheels of my DL yet. The bike is still pretty new to me. I'm curious though, why take the brake calipers off? That's not a step I'm used to doing while working on wheels/tires.

Thanks.

[greywolf]

The calipers are too close together for the tire to fit between them. It's only four bolts. Try changing the air filter.

[chris swann]

just a mention to take care when tire irons are not held onto when under pressure from the tire . they can really hurt . i had a plastic one hit me in the forehead when changeing a mountainbike tire and it drew blood .

[Black Lab]

just a mention to take care when tire irons are not held onto when under pressure from the tire . they can really hurt . i had a plastic one hit me in the forehead when changeing a mountainbike tire and it drew blood .

I think this might be a slightly different situation. Your mountain bike has a tube, the Strom tires don't. I release the air pressure by removing the valve core, before picking up my tire irons.

But, that is a very good point. I have had them "snap" out of my hands before.

Thanks for pointing this out.

B.

[Black Lab]

Try changing the air filter.


I don't know why, but that comment made me smile. Yes, it is a chore to change a simple air filter. But, I think the smile came from, you just know wwwaaaayyyy too much about these bikes. I am going to see if I can get the gang together to chip in and get you a girlfriend. Something to distract you from holding that "Strom encyclopedia" in your head.

(It would probably do no good. I'm guessing that you even know what makes women tick..........)


While I have your attention, do you have an opinion on flipping around a front TKC 80 tire? I have heard of others doing this. I have 8,200 miles on mine with plenty of tread left, but as always, characteristically worn "weirdly" from hard cornering and hard breaking.

[greywolf]

I'll leave the knobby flipping effectiveness question to the dirt riders. If the tire has a direction arrow, I wouldn't though. I have to get my wife's permission to have a girlfriend. I've got to tell you that seems unlikely. It might me okay to rent one occasionally.

[vstrompaul]

Just changed my tires to TKC 80's. Love em. Thanks for this thread. Without the Cinch strap trick I would not have gotten the rear to seat on the bead. That and the wheelbarrow tire as well. Bought the rim protectors, dyna beads and 3 tire irons and all worked well. Thanks again for the descriptive post. One more Strom lesson completed.

[Fredeich]

This is an excellent post on changing tires. It is the way I have done it for years. I recently put on Trail Attacks and timed the rear wheel just to see how long it took. The job was done in about 40 minutes from start to finish and that is with a coke break. With our big shop compressor we don't need or use the cinch strap, but the point is taken for a field repair. Well done.